AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What? No, that’s not what happened at all. The truck didn’t T-bone us—it hit us from the back.” I shook my head, remembering the way it had slammed into us, how the car had spun and slid down the embankment. “No, it hit the back.”
“Oh, Rose.” Kaleb stroked my cheek then looped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me so that I leaned into him. “No, honey. They told us that he was probably dead immediately, so he didn’t hurt. You, though…” He took in a shuddering breath and squeezed me tighter. “We know that you’re hurt. We know that this has go to be hard for you, especially after your dad.”
“They told us that you may be in denial, Rosita, but we should expect that, especially after what happened with your dad. You’re okay, though, and that’s what matters. Kaleb and I are so thankful that they pulled you out of the car before it burst into flames.”
“Flames? Who pulled me out of the car?” Squirming away from Kaleb’s grasp, I looked down at my arms. There weren’t any singe marks. “Look, there wasn’t a fire.” I turned my arms in front of the boys, showing them my perfect skin.
“That’s because you were pulled out right before the fire, Miss Bennett.” Mrs. Dimitri came bustling across the room to us, giving me the distinct feeling that she’d been listening to our conversation the entire time. “You only escaped unscathed because of the fast actions of some good Samaritans, so thank your lucky stars that you weren’t the only car on the road.”
“But we were.” I shook my head, hoping that I was making sense. “I mean, we were until the car hit us, but it hit is from behind, not the side. And Brett was breathing after the accident. I saw it!” The three of them were looking at me with sadness and compassion on their faces, and I realized with a start that none of them believed me.
“Rosita,” Jackie began, but Mrs. Dimitri cut him off.
“Miss Bennett needs her rest. She obviously doesn’t remember exactly what happened, but the psychiatrist said that this was to be expected.” She lowered her voice, like she was speaking just to my boys, but I could still hear exactly what she said. “She already lost her dad in a car accident, and she’s going to do everything she can to hold onto the hope that Brett isn’t dead, even though it doesn’t make sense. You two need to go and let her rest.”
“We can stay and be quiet.” Kaleb crossed his arms, daring her to kick him out.
Mrs. Dimitri sighed. “Not a chance, Mr. Moore. Mr. Taylor has already told me that Miss Bennett isn’t to have visitors until the psychotherapist is able to come and meet with her, so you two need to go. You could both get in a lot of trouble for being here as it is, and I’m not going to cover for you.
“It’s okay.” I rested my hand on Kaleb’s arm and looked up at Jackie. “You two go and get out of here so that you don’t get in any trouble. As soon as I talk to the therapist, I’m sure that I’ll be cleared to go, right?” I looked at Mrs. Dimitri, but she didn’t nod or shake her head.
Neither of my boys moved.
“Go.” This time, I worked hard to make my voice as strong as possible. Kaleb stood up but leaned down to give me a kiss before he left. His lips were warm on mine and I wanted to pull him back to me. I needed comfort from the two of them, but that would have to come later.
Jackie landed a kiss on my forehead. “We’ll be back this afternoon to check on you, okay, Rosita?” He was talking to me, but I knew that he wanted Mrs. Dimitri to hear him. Whatever happened, they weren’t going to just leave me alone.
I had them on my side, and that should have made me feel good.
But I still couldn’t believe that Brett was gone.
* * *
“Rose, are you with me?”
I’d been staring out the window for almost thirty minutes. I knew that because the psychotherapist had come into my room at 1:00 and it was 1:28. The only way for me to keep track of time and exactly what was going on was to check the clock obsessively.
Sighing, I turned my attention back to him. Dr. Devy wasn’t terrible as far as psychotherapists go. The problem that I had with him is that he hadn’t stopped staring at me since he’d gotten here and that he wasn’t answering any of my questions.
So, in those regards, he was exactly like every other doctor that I’d ever dealt with.
“I’m here.”
“Good.” He tapped his pen against his clipboard a few times before he caught the way I was looking at him, then he stopped. “Would you like to answer my question now?”
“You mean the one about how I’m doing?” I raised my wrist in response. “I’m happy to talk about my broken wrist and the fact that I’m banged up and in a hospital gown instead of hanging out with my friends as soon as you tell me the truth about the accident and tell me where Brett is.”
He nodded and then steepled his fingers under his chin. God, I hated it when doctors did that shit. That’s exactly what they did when they were telling me that my dad had died.
My stomach lurched at the memory and I looked back outside.
“I understand that you’ve been told the truth about Mr. Cox, Rose, so if you want to talk about your feelings regarding that, I’m happy to. You know that I’m here to help you, not hurt you. Taylor Prep has brought me on…”
“…To make sure that I am physically and mentally prepared to handle the stress and pressure of returning to classes and to my room. I assure you, Dr. Devy, I am prepared for what’s going to happen.”
“Okay.” He wrote on his paper for a moment before looking back up at me. “Nobody would blame you if you decided to go home, Miss Bennett. You could finish out your senior year at any other high school of your choosing. From your file I can see that any school would be lucky to have you.”
“I could…what?” Surely I hadn’t heard him correctly. “Are you suggesting that I leave Taylor Prep? Do you know how hard I’ve fought to be here?”
